(a) Field of the Invention
The present invention relates to a 5,15-diacetyl-3-benzoyllathyrol (EL-1) compound and a skin whitening composition comprising the same, and more particularly to a pharmaceutical and cosmetic composition comprising a 5,15-diacetyl-3-benzoyllathyrol (EL-1) compound which not only fades freckles and flecks, but can also be used as a skin whitener.
(b) Description of the Related Art
Having white and fine skin is many people's hope. Generally human skin color is determined hereditarily according to the concentration and distribution of melanin in the skin, but it can also be influenced by environmental or physiological conditions such as solar ultraviolet rays, fatigue, and stress. Melanin is produced through a non-enzymatic oxidation reaction after the enzyme tyrosinase acts on the amino acid tyrosine changing it into dopa and dopaquinone. While the process in which melanin is formed is known, the mechanism which induces melanin synthesis, or the step before the tyrosinase acts, is not yet understood in detail.
Therefore, conventional materials having tyrosinase inhibiting activities (such as hydroquinone, ascorbic acid, kojic acid, and glutathione) have been used after being mixed with ointments or cosmetics for skin whitening and freckle and fleck fading. However, hydroquinone has problems in that only an extremely restricted amount of it is used due to the severe skin irritation it causes, even though it's skin whitening effects are recognized. Ascorbic acid is easily oxidized, so cosmetics mixed with it have problems of color and odor changes; thiol based compounds such as glutathione, cysteine, etc. have unique unpleasant odors as well as problems in transdermal absorption; and glycosides and derivatives thereof have problems in that they cannot be appropriately used as mixed ingredients of cosmetics due to their high polarities.
Furthermore, although placenta extracts, etc. can be used in skin whitening compositions, these have problems such as insufficient whitening effects in clinical tests, among others. Therefore, existing skin whiteners are limited in their applications due to toxicity and stability problems.